Don't tax the sun

***UPDATE: Together we won! Over 28,000 Solar Citizens signed the petition to stop the sun tax and the AEMC backed down!***

“Solar-powered households face higher fees to use grid”read the headline in The Australian. “Australia’s one million households with rooftop solar photovoltaic panels face the prospect of higher charges to use the poles and wires that distribute electricity” it went on.

The article was about a new report by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) – one of the main organisations in charge of our energy system. The AEMC is bowing to big power companies and claiming that solar homes are being subsidised by other energy consumers.

That’s right. They are recommending taxing the sun.

The simple fact is that the AEMC is wrong. The main driver behind power bill price rises is investment in network poles and wires – not solar homes. But when it comes to the big power companies' war on solar, it looks like the facts don’t matter.

The AEMC will be making recommendations to our Federal and State Governments. But we know what can move these governments – the voice of the people. Together, we can tell our governments to get behind solar - not penalise it.

Show that you won’t stand for a tax on the sun by signing our petition below.

Will you sign?

Dear Prime Minister, State Premiers and Energy Ministers,

Recently, the Australian Energy Market Commission recommended increasing penalties and tariffs to solar owners – in effect, taxing the sun.

This sun tax is outrageous – over 1 million families in Australia have made the move to solar to take control of their energy production and reduce their energy bills. It’s unfair that families who have done the right thing would be penalised in any way.

Solar is not what is driving up electricity costs. Investment in poles, wires and dying technologies are. Instead of a sun tax, you should look at the best way to deal with those network costs, which are, in truth, the real costs increases that are hurting all Australians.

Solar energy is the energy production of the future, growing internationally and rising rapidly here in Australia. We should be increasing investment in solar – not penalising families and letting big power companies dictate our energy future.